Customer Reviews

Going Postal (Pinnacle true crime)

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I am a postal worker with over 40 years of listening to and having to put up with the B.S. management deals out daily. Don Lasseters' book is just the tip of the iceberg. I have been taken out of my station on a stretcher twice, and I'm not the only one. I have seen other carriers have heart attacks, undergo Psychotherapy, have major marital problems. This is all due to the stress Postal Workers are put through on a daily basis. Don Lasseter Tells it like it is, the public has no idea of what management puts their charges through. The only thing management, from the Postmaster down to the lowly line supervisors are interested in are the numbers, how much volume is moved each day. Management doesn't care what the consequences are as long as they make their quota, even if it costs someones life. "Going Postal" is a good first step in understanding the behind the scenes of THE UNITED POSTAL SERVICE. I urge you to read this book, it will open your eyes.

This book becomes relevant again with the recent Postal shootings in California. As a postal worker myself I have witnessed firsthand the mistreatment and abuse of my fellow postal workers at the hands of management. The public should read this book. Maybe then they would understand why the postal clerk behind the counter seems so surly and rude. This book tells it like it is and pulls no punches. I'm sure Postal management would be very unhappy if the public were to read this book. When my friends express surprise that there have been so many of these incidents in Postal facilities, I tell them the only surprise for me is that it hasn't happened more often.

I purchased this book for two reasons: 1. I was hoping to learn the causes behind the horrors of the Postal service. And from this book I did. 2. I wanted to know if the environment in my workplace was similiar. And although perhaps no as bad there are a lot of similiar situations. It truly saddens me that these government facilities are being so neglectful to the needs of their employees and their environment. I guess that old saying is true "Its only going to bother them or become a concern with them when it affects them." Definitely a good read, especially if you can handle the truth!!!

Sounds like Don Lasseter did a fine job researching the history of "Going Postal" incidents from 1983 through 1996 just before publishing this book in 1997. The number of perpetrators is excessive even for a large workforce and indicates that there are deep-seated issues in the corporate culture that no one wants to deal with until something happens.

Going postal takes you to: South Carolina, Georgia, New York, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Louisiana, California, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, New Jersey, and Nevada. I guess that qualifies as bouncing around the map. Nothing isolated to any particular location. Incidents happened in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996. Wow! If this were a song the title would be "And You Don't Stop." The numbers of employees killed in postal facilities isn't a figment of an imagination. As further noted, fostering anger is what went wrong!

Intimidation by upper management "That's the way they motivate you at work. It's a prehistoric era there, really."

The GAO issued recommendations for changes including one that suggested the USPS "Select and train managers who can serve as facilitators/counselors and who have the skills experience, and interest to treat employees with respect and dignity, positively motivate employees, recognize and reward employees for good work, promote teamwork, and deal effectively with poor performers.

Don Lasseter pointed out an interesting fact that statistics say a higher rate of taxi drivers and liquor store clerks were murdered on the job. "They didn't bother to mention that cabbies and clerks weren't being slaughtered by fellow cabbies and clerks." Statistics also say post offices don't have a high rate of homicide, but they have an exceptionally high rate of employees who kill coworkers.

As past investigators have noted. "These oversight activities repeatedly revealed an autocratic management style within the Postal Service, a style both admitted to and regretted by Anthony M. Frank... Postmaster General..."

The supervisor mentality of the past "I ate dirt for many years, now it's your turn to eat dirt" still exists today in the year 2010.

The book was very detailed and informative! It has been continued by other credible authors who have presented their own look into today's U.S. Postal Service culture. This book is a must read for past, present, and future workplace leaders. Mr. Lasseter also included more than 20 black and white photos which add a visual impact to the reading. Get your copy while you can!